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| What impact do you feel fishing TV shows have had on our sport?
Check out this article:
http://bass.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/11.25.2008/1861/Bassin'.Blog...
Edited by Fishing Fanatics 11/25/2008 8:32 AM
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Location: Berlin | "...since the late 1980's there has been an explosion of fishing shows to watch. During that same time period, there has been a marked decline in the number of folks fishing. Coincidence I'm sure, but it could be indicative of the times."
I have a hard time believing this, where did you get that info from?
Edited by Rich S 11/25/2008 9:16 AM
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| Rich,
Just look at the load of shows available now compared to the early 1980's. There are a ton.
Maybe where you are from there were as many as there are now, but not in the part of Illinois I lived. There are an incredible amount of shows and now channels dedicated to fishing shows.
As far as the decline of anglers it is documented through the USFWS and many other organizations including the ASA and the RBFF.
The numbers have been on a decline since early 90s. This isn't my opinion, but based on the numbers provided by the agencies that track them.
Edited by Fishing Fanatics 11/25/2008 11:31 AM
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Location: Berlin | I agree that the number of shows is up, it was the number of anglers I was questioning. Can you provide me with a link to this info? Thanks Dave |
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| From the USFWS:
http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/NationalSurvey/15_year_trend.h...
One note on the trends shows a decrease in saltwater license sales even though Florida anglers now have to purchase fishing license to fish the salt. In the early 1990s anglers didn't need to purchase them to fish in the salt. this may have been the case in other states as well, but I don't have that data. I can find out if you need me to.
Edited by Fishing Fanatics 11/25/2008 11:50 AM
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Location: Berlin | It looks like the majority of the decline is coming from the Great Lakes and Saltwater locations. This makes total sense to me. |
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| Yep. The more "urban" areas are losing the largest numbers of anglers for sure.
When I worked for the RBFF and had the numbers on my desk daily that seemed to be the trend.
However, we are losing folks in the most hardcore fishing states as well such as Minnesota. |
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| The link you provided seems to show that fishing is becoming a rich man's sports. The TV shows only compound this fact, by the persuit of trophy fish.
When I was a wee lad, one only needed a stick, some line and hook and a bobber to catch fish. The times they are a changeing. |
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Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | Jayman
I have read the link that was supplied and I also did some indepedant research on this subject over the last few hours. Dave did not supply links with the article so he may or may not have found some of the same info that I have. HOWEVER, I think you have nailed something "Spot on". (Thats the way you guys are now saying that someone is right, correct?)
The shows are portraying, to the up and comer fisherman of all ages, that you need to have all this fancy expensive gear, all this money to play, all this time to take trips, the equipment hafta' have's to total in the many thousands of dollars to perform this task or sport. The urban kids dont see what we do, they see whats on the tube. The few kids who live in rural america, and thats me and mine, still spear carp with sharpened sticks and sucker fish till midnight with the zebco 202 and a few hooks and weights and some crawlers you dug up under a rock. We take it for granted, but they have no idea how to do this. When the shows were few and local, they showed you how many times.
"You are what people percieve you to be" and the info most of the public gets on our sport is percieved as a rich dudes sport. They say, "lets sit back and watch", cause there is no way I will catch the kind of fish that they do cause I aint got that kind of boat, or the cash to fill it with gasoline, or know how to use it, or have the time to tavel over there.
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| Spot on, Denny.  |
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| Stacker,
I agree. I think the perception is leaning that way.
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | Keep in mind though; the same people who worry about the decline in license sales are usually the ones complaining about crowding at boat ramps and on the water. The trend I see is that there are fewer anglers, but they congregate more on certain bodies of water. I rarely ever see more than a handful of boats fishing some of Wisconsin’s bigger lakes like Petenwell and Castle Rock, but there are always a ton of them on some of the smaller lakes in the state.
A lot of that has to do with location and people being less willing to travel. Many of the license sales used to be to one or two time per year anglers who now don’t make that trip “Up North”. There is a perception that the only good fishing in some states are on one or two bodies of water. I feel the one negative effect that the shows have had is that they preach you have to be on the right water at the right time. This can be very true, but rarely do the shows explain what kinds of water their fishing, they just tell where.
I think that more local video clips need to be shown. Areas that have local outdoors clips on their newscasts have a big advantage. Seeing places you’re familiar with and building the excitement for a local body of water will always attract more local people to the local resource than an episode of a show that may not even play in their area. It’s up to the current anglers to ask for this, ask your news channel to do a segment once in a while about local fishing with local guides or regular every day anglers. |
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| You can not count out the effect of PCBs being labeled in every lake and a new disease or crisis every year (it seems like) is having on people willing to fish. |
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| Good discussion, I tend to lean more towards the family values aspect for the decline than anything else, Sport TV shows don't address this issue and target the already fishing community, that wants to see big fish on TV and the stage, (another sorry excuse) they do very little if anything to entice new anglers to the sport. The idea of showing local spots to fish on a TV show only angers the anglers already fishing there, and does nothing to bring in new blood. It does more harm than good.
I have had a lot of "kids" in my boat and involved with a number of youth organized events and I always end the day with the same perception, mom and dad are divorced strugling or have fallen on tough times. They know they need to get their kids away from the TV and video games. They are there because it is inexpensive and relaxing. If they can be taught to fish and the reason to release these fish they can become stewards of the future.
There was a time in my life that going up north and renting a cabin with the family was a vacation to peace and quite and a chance for everyone of all ability to catch a fish or 2 (some of the best days of my life). Now the standard "family vacation" consists of going up to work at the cabin so the kids can take the jetskis out or go watersking, or some other fast paced event. We have forgotten how to relax and enjoy life!
From the shows I have watched with big rigs and big motors, it only strengthens the argument for fast paced fishing and the "NEED" to put big fish in the boat. Wrong approach if you ask me.
Good Luck
Tyee |
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| Tyee,
You have an excellent point. In fact, one of the failures we discovered at RBFF of the youth events, etc., was that quite often they were one and out events.
The child got to fish at the youth fishing derby or whatever its called, but the experience is never reinforced by the parent or guardian.
If the parent or guardian doesn't fish the odds of the child fishing are astronomically low.
This is a bit off topic, but very important to the decline in numbers as a whole. |
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| The modern day fisherman is killing the sport not the programs on TV. When I was younger my Grandpa got me hooked on fishing and TV shows had nothing to do with it. He would take me out at nightfall after a rain to hunt for nightcrawlers, in the morning he would pick me up in his car along with a rowboat strapped to the top, take me down to the lake and row for about 15 min. until we reached his favorite fishing spot. I always got excited every time my bobber would go under the surface. Back then it was for enjoyment and for a meal, not the high paced competitive nature it is today.
Today you have to wait in line to lower your 500hp boat into the water and race people to a spot that many know is productive. All you see are images of pros with the biggest fish telling you to buy this product or that product that they are endorsing so you too can be a real fisherman. Most people will not get involved with promoting fishing unless there is something in it for them like a cash prize or a reputation/resume booster.
Most fishing shows are an ego booster and very little more. Anyone with the financial backing can have a fishing show, and look just as good at doing it. People are not looking at the fishing shows and deciding not to fish, they instead were going out and purchasing a new Lund boat they really could not afford the payments because they are getting the impression faster and newer is better, keeping up with the Jones.
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| They may not hurt the sport, but a lot of them don't help it any. Biggest problem I see with fishing shows today is that they are so expensive to produce and broadcast. In order to pay for them you need sponsorship, usually from some tackle manufacturer. Unfortunately, once you do that, you instantly become that companies "tackle whore." Instead of watching a show to learn a new technique to catch your favorite fish, you're stuck watching a 30 minute infomercial for one companies products. I miss the good old days (jeez, I'm only 36! Am I old enough to remember "the good old days"?) when you could watch In-fishermen and learn something. They'd do stories on 2 or 3 species of fish, not just bass or walleyes. They'd say, when fishing "BLANK" kind of water, under "BLANK" conditions, use "BLANK" technique. Yeah, you could tell by the gear they used that they were sponsored by Quantum, Bottomline, and Lund, but they didn't beat you over the head with it throughout the show! Now it's "I'm Al Lindner, and I'm a flasher guy." Opps, not sponsored by Vexilar anymore. Quick, strip the $250 flashers off the Lund and load up the $2500 side scan Humming Birds (now that Humming Bird is making flashers again, it'll be interesting to see if they're in the episodes filmed in boats this season.) Half the time, we can't even get the new tackle they're pushing in the store before they start airing the shows. Once our dealers finally get it in stock and we can put it on the selves, nobody wants it anymore (Slow Death hooks were the latest example of that for me!)
Anyway, I'll still be watching all the shows every weekend, but the only three I truly look forward to anymore are "The Worlds Greatest fishing show" (since switching from only bass fishing, and fishing ways I might be able to do on any given weekend,) "Spanish Fly" (fishing for things I won't be chasing anytime soon, but might someday,) and "Hunt for Big Fish" (chasing fish in places I'll only get to fish if I win the lottery!) Yeah, Mark, Jose, and Larry all pitch their sponsors products, but at least they do it during the commercials where they belong! |
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| I should have filmed the minnow catching expedition with a good friend this fall. We needed some big chubs for fall walleye fishing. We were tripping over brush and falling down, dumping buckets of minnows, creek chubs jumping out of the bucket and 2 grown men digging in the tall grass for “lost minnows” and laughing. When we found the good spot" we sounded like we found a hole of 8 lb walleyes! The High Tech Fishing Doc having fun with an old rod, a bobber, a pocket full of jigs and some worms. We ended up with a few minnows, wet feet, and one of my best days fishing this year. |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | It’s easy for all of us to come on this site and give our opinion of that “one obvious reason” why there is a decline in fishing participation. My personal view point is that you are all right and nobody is wrong. There are a multitude of reasons that our younger generation is not following in our footsteps. As an educator, I see some of the reasons everyday. Bear with me as I explain a few observations. Our younger society: - Would rather sit in front of a computer for countless hours and play a game than go outside and enjoy nature.
- Would rather sit in front of a computer and chat with strangers than have a real conversation with a parent or adult.
- Doesn’t have an adult role model to learn from that instills the same values you and I learned about the environment and natural resources.
- Are lucky if they have 2 parents that love them and take the time to pass on the traditions of the woods and water.
- Are lucky if they have enough money for the show and gas for a Friday night out. They are not saving for that Zebco 202.
- Would rather be on a jet ski or snowmobile raising through the environment than stopping to appreciate the beauty around them.
- Spend more time watching TV and/or playing on the computer than interacting with the real world.
- Are victims of our generation where we sit and let all of the above happen. We created the above scenarios and blame the younger generation for participating in it.
We live in a passive society where people are getting more enjoyment out of watching than actually participating. Just because someone in our society enjoys watching a fishing show doesn’t necessarily mean that they will go out and fish. Many of you will disagree with this statement because you are the old guard and you watch shows to learn. You are the consumers that TV shows originally looked for. They knew that you would write down what reel Al was using. They made sure that they showed that flasher 2-3 times so you caught the model number. The info-commercial craze had not started yet but their subtle advertising was successful on you. Flash forward to 2008. Out of the 248 channels that I get on my satellite TV, 45 are info commercials. 39 are showing some sort of reality TV show. 89 are sex related, violence related or both. And there are just 2 stations dedicated to hunting and fishing. The consumers are using these shows to escape reality for awhile. Few are watching to learn and exercise the brain. Far from it, they are doing the opposite. They live vicariously through the characters on the tube. (The previous numbers were only theoretical and were made up for the author to get a point across) Oh, and by the way. I just got done watching an In-Fisherman TV show on my digital satellite recorder. The first half of the show was dedicated to crappie fishing. Al still explained the “why, where and how” of fishing. And they USED a bobber and minnow, just like the “good old days”. “Gotta luv ‘em”, and I can not see how you can blame him or others for the demise of the fishing industry. And for the record, I do not remit and wish for the good old days. I still remember not being able to afford that expensive 25hp motor and fancy fiberglass Lund that Al drove around the country. The dollar amounts have changed and technology has changed but my lust for the fancy tools has not changed at all. Unfortunately, my pocket book is still in the same proportional flux it was in during the 70’s. I still can not afford all of the top end toys. |
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| Sunshine you pretty much hit it on the head and great post! I gotta chuckle here and why someone would even draw a parallel between fishing shows and the decline of fisherman and frankly it doent add up! I grew up on bago system /bay of gb and there is more fishing poeple now than there ever has been. Fishing shows make me wanna go fishing not the other way around! Sorry fantactic but the number your using for your post cant be accurate in this state of wisc a kid doesnt need a license until 16 and there is awhole lot of kids fishing from shore and in boats all the time ! I could name 30 kids under 16 who love to fish just within a 5 mile of my house ! And they all love my tuffy boat! Everyone have a great thanksgiving! Gobble gobble |
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| Dave does like to stir the pot, and once again with an interesting result of many inciteful responses.
We clearly are living in a different society than we grew up in. It can be hard to believe we are losing fisherman when we hit the ramps in SE Wi.
I wonder if much of the decrease in licenses is do to the decrease of the occasional fisherman. As mentioned earlier, the folks who would vacation at fishing resorts instead of Wisconsin Dells water slides.
In answer to the original querie, no I do not think the shows hurt the industry.
If a candidate sees something he finds interesting, it is still likely that they seek the means to pursue the endevour. Look at the shore fishing potential in Milwaukee along. Perhaps more shows could feature these low cost adventures and try to discover the interest in those types of shows.
I tend to agree with Dennis' appraisal right down the line. As parents, we have influence over our children's choices to a degree. The interest of our kids friends have a lot of sway as well. Actually, I got pretty good at Halo and Ghost Recon just to try to keep up with the kids.
As Pogo would say"We have seen the enemy and he is us"
Take care,
Jim O |
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Location: Appleton wi | Jim dont forgott it also brings out the cynical and negative view points of some poeple even if there comments are misguided and twisted!LMAO
Edited by eye Lunker 11/26/2008 6:00 PM
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| cynical and negative? misguided and twisted? Just an observation but I think everyone had good points that were posted. |
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| Lunker, the numbers have shown that the number of fishing licenses purchased nation wide have been falling for over 10 years, and I agree it is not from the fishing shows. I also live on the bago system, have been for 40 years, and the shore fishing has decreased greatly and for several reasons. The availability to public access shoreline has dwindled. Even private shoreline that used to be available to the public is now off limits. Little Lake Butte des Morts is so polluted with PCB they are dredging the bottom, I used to fish that lake with my grandpa but today I would not take my son there.
You could see the industry taking a turn for the worst about eight to ten years ago. You could see it from fishing magazine advertising decreases to one or two walleye limits imposed on many northern lakes, and a lot of things in-between.
What are your ideas on why the numbers keep falling?
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| I think some are good and some are bad. I grew up on the Fox river and never had any problem catching any kind of fish in this system because my Dad and Grandpa taught me what to do. As I got older I started watching In-Fisherman shows and really was intimidated by the size and quantity of fish they were catching. As I struck out to other areas and species I really struggled to catch fish at first and was thinking that those guys were some sort of gods and I wasn't smart enough to catch these modern day fish. I of course don't think that way anymore and really got back to the basics and let the fishing be more relaxing and less of a measure of my manhood. I think one that is good is John Gallespie. He shows you where he is and how he is doing it. This could build peoples confidence in the area they are fishing because they seen him doing it. I know he isn't a lier because he was fishing rite by me on the Wolf River a couple of weeks ago and I watched him make most of the show. I personally think there are more people fishing these days because the landings and lakes are getting busier. In fact I have not going out fishing sometimes because I don't like to fight the crowd at the boat launch on the weekends. |
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